The Afghan government, funded in part by the American taxpayer, has refused to award contracts to exploit the country’s lucrative mining industry to Pentagon-supported international companies, including U.S.-based contractors, according to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a watchdog agency.

Meanwhile, the Kabul government has reached a 30-year, $3 billion deal with a state-owned Chinese company to mine Afghanistan’s copper deposits, a component of the war-ravaged countries mineral resources valued by the U.S. government at about $1 trillion.

The United States has spent at least $121 billion on Afghan reconstruction efforts alone, funding the country’s government, among other sectors of the country. …

While the United States continues to invest blood and treasure in Afghanistan, it is neighboring China that is set to tap into what is believed to be one of the richest troves of minerals in the world located in the war-devastated nation.